Feet

She was two weeks early and we had been waiting and waiting to meet her. When she finally made her debut, she was beautiful. Of course that is an objective opinion of a grandma. Molly Ann, my fifth grandchild was born to Jennifer and Jon in May and was named after her Aunt Molly and my mom, she would have been so pleased. And here we are a fast moving two and a half months later, and she has grown. They do that you know. She was swaddled most of the time in the hospital but on occasion when a diaper was changed we had a chance to see her little body from head to toe. Her feet were turned in and crooked but I didn't pay too much attention thinking they would stretch out and straighten out. They probably were just a little crowded in mom's stomach. But when Dr. Lange, Molly's pediatrician came by to examine her, it was determined that she had what was diagnosed as club feet. He arranged an appointment for Jennifer to take Molly to see Dr. Brock, on her way home from the hospital. He is a well versed obstetrician and pediatric abnormalities was one of his specialities.

Molly was casted that very morning on both legs when she was three days old. The original treatment was that she would be cast and recast once a week for six weeks. But after the first two casts, the treatment was reevaluated due to improvement and she was now able to move into phase two and deemed to wear correction shoes until the foot, one particularly, had been trained into place. This is a practice that has been around for many years and many of you have experienced the tedious and consistent workout or have certainly seen it with others so you can relate. Shoes have to be taken on and off and required stretching of the foot muscles at intervals in-between are the main exercises. A few things have changed over the years but the basic treatment has remained secure. She doesn't seem to be bothered by the equipment or discomforted by the restraint. It is mom who is having to bear the burden. Molly's tiny feet have responded to the treatment, and it has been amazing to witness the difference, in such a short time. It was diagnosed early and as she grows, her heel bones are growing into place and the muscles within her feet are being trained to comply to an upward position of normality.

As I held her last night and fed her a bottle, she was getting to take a break from the shoes. I looked at those little feet and remembered how crooked they had been at birth and what a difference a few weeks and consistent treatment had made. Her feet had been forced to comply to the bounded position that were training her little feet to shirt in a new direction. A direction that would ultimately be in her best interest. I remember Dr Brock telling Jennifer, she might not thank me now but when she is sixteen and wanting to weak high heels, that is when she will be glad for what was done when she was a baby.

It is not fun to have to make life adjustments, and live within bounds that are designed and designated by someone else. But that is exactly what we , as Christians, are called to do. We have been given a set of boundaries to live by that are for our ultimate good. But oh so often we shake free of those bounds and try to go about life on our own agenda without reference to the guidelines that God has placed before us. It is the consistency of our training that brings about our improvement, and adjusts our positioning of self to our posturing with Christ.

When we are born, we have a crooked sense of balance. It is all about self. Some of us never get too far away from that because it is truly a innate part of our very being. Adjustment takes time and it is based primarily on consistency but also a willingness to submit to a higher authority. Molly has someone looking after her and making decisions for her life that would ultimately benefit her, because she is too little to manage on her own. We are past that stage, and do have the ability to manage our lives. But there is a decision that each of us has to make. Do we want to comply to the rules that God has set forth for living a righteous life or not. Are we willing to let go of the grip of self motivated desires and allow God to set our bounds or not? His structure and bounds are based on his wisdom and knowlege and what he knows will ultimately be for our best?

Just taking this down to the lowest shelf, which is where I am best at getting God's lessons, I have to ask: Am I willing to compromise my own self guided natural bent which gets me into trouble time and time again, for God's ways? Do I want to stand tall and fight for my own glory or stand with God and quietly reflect his glory?

We are faced with challenges everyday on all fronts with this issue. It is an easy question... Is it going to be self or God. I will be the first to say that committing to God's way is not comfortable, and being bound to his shoes has a tendency to compromise my freedom. That is true but only for a while. For the training instills in me a new direction, a new perspective, a new position of strength. When considering the training; training takes discipline and discipline does not come easy, it is work. I have to work to keep my mouth shut, I have to work to think of others before myself, I have to work to not be judgmental, I have to work to thoughtful and kind, I have to work to not complain and be content. But it is in the training and the discipline that I gain the greatest rewards. There is a peace and a joy that overrides the entangled position that I often find myself in when I do things my way without regard to God's. Is it worth the grit? I truly believe it is but you have to answer that for yourself.

These little corrective shoes, with all their buckles and straps and the straight bar attachment are helping my little Molly to ultimately have her best footing. We too have been given bound shoes to walk in that will adjust our footing. But the difference here, is that we don't have anyone making our calls, we have make the corrective decisions to adjust our footing on our own, and with God's help we can manage this accordingly. It is a choice, an everyday choice: to be in consistent training with Christ or try to manage our crooked ways without him.

Hebrews 12:11
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Dear Lord, What a blessing to witness the improvement and shift in the positioning of these little feet. Thank you. I am willing Lord for you to do the same with me. Please help me to be bound by your grace and learn to walk in your shoes and leave mine behind. Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!